Water repellent treatment (WRT) has proved to be effective to prevent porous materials from water penetration and consequently can improve the durability of structures. In this contribution, three types of mortar, which are pre-carbonated and non-carbonated, had been water repellent treated by silane gel with usage of 400 g/m2, to investigate into the influence of WRT on carbonated and non-carbonated mortar. Results indicate that carbonation reaction increased the compressive strength of all three types of mortar. Silane gel penetrated to a comparatively higher depth for the carbonated mortar. WRT reduced the absorbed water and capillary absorption coefficient greatly, both for non-carbonated mortar to 2 % ~ 7 % and for carbonated mortar to 22 % ~ 66 %, compared with non-treated ones. WRT is still a feasible method for porous materials with some carbonation to prevent from water penetration. However, the efficiency of WRT on reducing capillary absorption became much lower compared with the non-carbonated mortar. Capillary absorption curves of non-WRT mortar, both carbonated and non-carbonated, could be well fitted by a hyperbolic function of square root of time. For the treated mortar, the absorption curves could be described as a linear equation before carbonation, but an exponential function when the mortar carbonated.


Introduction: The common treatments for vitamin B12 (Vit.B12) deficiency are oral supplementation (OS) and intramuscular (IM) injection. However, there have been debates on which treatment is more effective. Therefore, this analysis is aimed at comparing the effectiveness of OS and IM injection using systematic review and meta-analysis. Methods: A search was undertaken in the Cochrane Library, MEDLINE, EMBASE, and KoreaMed for randomised controlled trials (RCTs) on the study subject. We included papers that compared OS and IM injection methods for vitamin B12 treatment for cobalamin deficient patients. Changes in vitamin B12 serum levels before and after the treatments were compared. SPSS program version 18.0 and Review Manager 5.2 were used. Results: The search revealed only three appropriate studies for our analysis, involving a total of 141 patients, out of whom, 66 were given OS and 75 IM injection. The standardised mean difference (SMD) between OS and IM injection was 0.14 (95% CI = -0.20, 0.48, p = 0.42). In considering tolerability, adverse events, and cost, OS was found to be better than IM injection. Conclusions: OS is recommended over IM injection for Vit.B12 treatment method.


Internet listservers provide a means for professionals from all sectors of the industry and profession, to communicate and collaborate with each other, as well as other stakeholders (e.g., suppliers, academics, the general public and community members) in real time. This article highlights key Internet listservers in the field of environmental monitoring in soil contamination and remediation and how to subscribe to them. The most active and relevant listservers for environmental scientists, technologists and professionals in the soil contamination and remediation profession are the Bioremediation Discussion Group (BioGroup), Phytonet, Phytoremediation listserver, Groundwater listserver and Environmental Forensics listserver. Other observations and lessons so far from the use of Internet listservers are: (i) that moderators provide an important role in maintaining the level of quality and participation, (ii) do not underestimate the knowledge base held within these, and (iii) if not selected and managed properly, e-mail from listservers can generate an excess of e-mail and waste time.


ABSTRACT We present details on parental care and foraging behavior of Olive-sided Flycatchers (Contopus cooperi) in central Alaska. We document the first evidence of fecal sac consumption in this species. Both sexes exhibited this behavior while tending chicks less than one week old. Adults with older nestlings (1.5–2 weeks) removed fecal sacs only. The general pattern of reduced fecal sac consumption with chick age is consistent with other passerines and may supplement parental nutrition. Near-ground foraging behavior in C. cooperi is rarely reported, as birds typically sally for aerial insects near or above the canopy. Two breeding females fed multiple times from 1–3 m perches, hovering over, flying directly above or disappearing into low vegetation (<0.5 m) for up to 15 secs. Low stumps and saplings in a wood cutting area and in undisturbed forest provided access to patches of flowering vegetation that appeared to concentrate pollinator prey during cool or inclement weather. Given the conservation concerns for this species, its low productivity, dietary specialization, and hypothesized early-season reliance on insect prey, flowering vegetation presents a testable visual stimulus that may govern settlement behavior of breeding adults.


This study explored undergraduate student teachers experiences on psychosocial stressors, how they resolve the stressors, and the level of utilization of college help or support resources. A self-report questionnaire was administered to a total of 187 first year, second year and third year student teachers (M=25 & SD=3.38) from Dar es Salaam University College of Education, Tanzania. Regardless of gender, student teachers reported to have had high level of stressful experiences to the extent of needing assistance. And the longer the students stay in the college the more stressful experiences they are likely to encounter. Although students would most often prefer face to face followed by making a telephone call in seeking for help, there is a low utilization of formal college help services such as counseling compared to the informal sources of help like fellow students. And a lack of awareness, ethical concerns, and cultural factors emerged as the major barriers to help-seeking from the formal college sources of help. The results of this study provide insight for developing a comprehensive and holistic intervention programs that could buffer students from stress and its associated maladies.


A recurrent feature of the reception of Giovanni Paisiello's Nina o sia La pazza per amore (first version, in one act, 1789; second version, in two acts, 1790) is the deep empathic involvement of the audience. The masterpiece of the Italian composer appears to have had the power to move male and (mainly) female listeners and to produce strong effects like tears, outbursts, etc. The article offers a preliminary discussion of the French origins of the libretto (a translation of Marsollier des Vivetieres' Nina ou la Folle par amour , set to music by Nicolas-Marie Dalayrac in 1786), as well as a reconstruction of the genesis of the work as an occasional piece for a specific event within Neapolitan court life, and a brief account of its metamorphosis when the score was adapted by the author for performance in a public theater. The second section discusses contemporary sources that demonstrate the process of emotional participation experienced by eighteenth-century spectators. The final part is an attempt to explain the mysterious fascination exerted by 'the girl driven mad by love' by means of the identification and examination of different elements pertaining to the cultural milieu , the theatrical conventions, the specific context, and the dramatic and musical structure of the work.


We outline a systematic approach to the determination of the Standard Model-like Higgs boson total width and measurable coupling parameters in a model-independent manner at the International Linear Collider (ILC) and illustrate the complementarity for operating the ILC at $250$ GeV near the $Zh$ threshold and at $500$ GeV and $1$ TeV utilizing the $WW, ZZ$ fusion processes. We perform detailed simulations for an important contributing channel to the coupling determination and for invisible decays. Without model assumptions, and combining the information for the coupling ratios from the LHC, the total width can be determined to an accuracy of about $6%$, and the couplings for the observable channels can be measured to the $(3-5)%$ level at 250 GeV, reaching $(1-3)%$ level including the 500 GeV results, with further improvements possible with a $1$ TeV run. The best precision for the branching fraction measurement of the Higgs to invisible modes can be reached at $0.5-0.7%$ around the $Zh$ threshold. Further studies from $ZZ$ fusion at higher energies may provide significant improvement for the measurements. With modest theory assumptions, the width and coupling determinations can be further improved to the percent or sub-percent level.


We discuss the concept of components in the Earth's mantle starting from a petrological and geochemical approach, but adopting a new method of projection of geochemical and isotopic data. This allows the compositional variability of magmatic associations to be evaluated in multi-dimensional space, thus simultaneously accounting for a large number of compositional variables.We demonstrate that ocean island basalts (OIB) and mid-ocean ridge basalts (MORB) are derived from a marble-cake mantle, in which different degrees of partial melting of recycled lithosphere, which are heterogeneous in age and composition, contribute to the magma genesis. This view is supported by the variability in the geochemical and isotopic signatures of OIB that are observed on the scale of a single ocean island as well as on that of an ocean, mostly varying between two extreme compositions, that are not strictly related to the commonly accepted mantle components (DMM, EMI, EMII, HIMU). Rather they are a distinctive feature of the mantle source sampled at each ocean island and are strongly dependent on the Pb isotope system. We recommend a change in perspective in studies of MORB^OIB geochemistry from one based on physically distinct mantle components to a model based on the existence of a marble-cake-like upper mantle. Although resembling the statistical upper mantle, this model implies that geochemical homogenization can be attained only within the limits of local mantle composition, so that a world-wide uniform depleted reservoir cannot be sampled by simply extending the volume of the region undergoing partial melting.


Summary Microtubule-associated protein light chain 3 (LC3)-II is a marker of autophagosome. In this study, LC3-II expression was used to identify autophagy, during the in vitro maturation of porcine oocytes. In a time-course experiment, cumulus–oocyte complexes (COCs) were cultured in NCSU23 medium for 0 h, 14 h, 28 h or 42 h. The cumulus cells were removed and denuded oocytes were processed for western blotting or immunostaining. Western blotting showed that the LC3-II levels changed over time, with maximum levels observed at 14 h and minimum levels at 42 h. Immunostaining of LC3 showed the signals with dot shapes and ring shapes in oocytes at every group that probably represent autophagosomes. To ascertain whether autophagic induction and degradation were occurring, we treated the cultures with autophagic inhibitors. Lysosomal protease inhibitor E64d and pepstatin A increased the LC3-II levels and wortmannin, inhibitor of autophagic induction, decreased the LC3-II levels. Western blotting and immunostaining demonstrated that LC3-II is present in porcine oocytes cultured in vitro. The decreased LC3-II levels after wortmannin treatment suggest that it is newly generated in porcine oocytes, a phenomenon that represents autophagic induction. Furthermore, increased LC3-II levels after E64d and pepstatin A addition imply that LC3-II is degraded by lysosomal proteases, an indication of autophagic degradation. Our results suggest that autophagy, which is a dynamic process whereby autophagosomes are newly generated and subsequently degraded, is probably occurring in porcine oocytes during in vitro maturation.


The lifetimes of excited states in the yrast band of 176Os have been measured up to I = 20 level using the Doppler shift attenuation method. The high-spin states of 176Os were populated via fusion evaporation reaction 152Sm(28Si,4n)176Os at a beam energy of 140 MeV. The results support an X(5) structure for 176Os at low spin. This structure disappears at high spin and shows a symmetry rotor character. The shape change of 176Os is similar to that of 178Os.


Pontine cholinergic neurotransmission is known to play a key role in the regulation of rapid eye movement (REM) sleep and to contribute to state-dependent respiratory depression. Nitric oxide (NO) has been shown to alter the release of acetylcholine (ACh) in a number of brain regions, and previous studies indicate that NO may participate in the modulation of sleep/wake states. The present investigation tested the hypothesis that inhibition of NO synthase (NOS) within the medial pontine reticular formation (mPRF) of the unanesthetized cat would decrease ACh release, inhibit REM sleep, and prevent cholinergically mediated respiratory depression. Local NOS inhibition by microdialysis delivery of NG-nitro-l-arginine (NLA) significantly reduced ACh release in the cholinergic cell body region of the pedunculopontine tegmental nucleus and in the cholinoceptive mPRF. A second series of experiments demonstrated that mPRF microinjection of NLA significantly reduced the amount of REM sleep and the REM sleep-like state caused by mPRF injection of the acetylcholinesterase inhibitor neostigmine. Duration but not frequency of REM sleep epochs was significantly decreased by mPRF NLA administration. Injection of NLA into the mPRF before neostigmine injection also blocked the ability of neostigmine to decrease respiratory rate during the REM sleep-like state. Taken together, these findings suggest that mPRF NO contributes to the modulation of ACh release, REM sleep, and breathing.


The research on stem cell cultures has attracted much
attention due to the recent development of regenerative medicine. Therefore,
higher functionalities for devices used for culturing cells are strongly
demanded. In this study, we fabricated cell culture sheets using transparent
polyimide (PI), parylene (PA), and polyetheretherketone (PEEK) to make polymer materials that had
microstructures. We then cultured stromal marrow cells (OP9) on them and
investigated the cell alignment within the microstructures. Hot embossing was
used to fabricate the microstructures with a width and depth of 5 μm on the
polymer substrates. Cultivation of the cells was confirmed on the transparent PI and PA sheets, however,
it was not observed on the PEEK sheet. Slight alignment of the cells was also
observed along with the microstructures.


Our previous studies have shown that human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1), with mutations in accessory genes such as vif, vpr or vpu, can generate persistent infection of MT-4 cells, whereas infection by wild-type or nef mutant HIV-1 causes extensive cell death. The possibility of generating a naturally attenuated form of HIV-1 with reduced cytopathogenicity in MT-4 cells was examined by in vitro serial passage of the wild-type and a nef mutant form of HIV-1, each derived from the infectious molecular clone pNL432. The ability to cause persistent infection was observed after four passages of wild-type HIV-1 with the frequency of persistence becoming progressively higher with serial passage. In contrast, persistent infection was not observed even after 50 passages of the nef mutant virus. Sequence analysis of the accessory gene loci in genomes recovered from the persistent infections caused by passaged virus revealed mutations in vif and vpr, but not in vpu. The processing of the Env precursor to mature forms was not modified in any of the passages of either wild-type or nef mutant HIV-1. However, when compared with acute infections caused by similarly passaged virus of both wild-type and nef mutant HIV-1, persistent infections by passaged wild-type HIV-1 showed a significant decrease in the cell surface expression and function of Env. Cell surface CD4 was only partially down-regulated on cells acutely infected with the passaged viruses, whereas on cells persistently infected with passaged wild-type HIV-1 it was completely down-regulated. These results suggest that, during serial passage of HIV-1, mutations accumulate at least in the accessory genes vif and vpr in parallel with a lesser interaction between cell surface Env and CD4 molecules, and lead to the generation of less cytopathogenic viruses capable of persistent infection. Our results also suggest an important role for the nef gene product in the generation of HIV-1 strains that are less cytopathogenic.


We consider a semantics-aware communication system, where timeliness is the semantic measure, with a source which maintains the most current version of a file, and a network of $n$ user nodes with the goal to acquire the latest version of the file. The source gets updated with newer file versions as a point process, and forwards them to the user nodes, which further forward them to their neighbors using a memoryless gossip protocol. We study the average version age of the network in the presence of $\tilde{n}$ jammers that disrupt inter-node communications, for the connectivity-constrained ring topology and the connectivity-rich fully connected topology. For the ring topology, we construct an alternate system model of mini-rings and prove that the version age of the original model can be sandwiched between constant multiples of the version age of the alternate model. We show in a ring network that when the number of jammers scales as a fractional power of the network size, i.e., $\tilde n= cn^\alpha$, the version age scales as $\sqrt{n}$ when $\alpha<\frac{1}{2}$, and as $n^{\alpha}$ when $\alpha \geq \frac{1}{2}$. As version age of a ring network without any jammers scales as $\sqrt{n}$, our result implies that version age with gossiping is robust against upto $\sqrt{n}$ jammers in a ring network. We then study the connectivity-rich fully connected topology, where we derive a greedy approach to place $\tilde{n}$ jammers to maximize age of the resultant network, which uses jammers to isolate as many nodes as possible, thereby consolidating all links into a single mini-fully connected network. We show in this network that version age scales as $\log{n}$ when $\tilde{n}=cn\log{n}$ and as $n^{\alpha-1}$, $1<\alpha\leq2$ when $\tilde{n}=cn^{\alpha}$, implying the network is robust against $n\log{n}$ jammers, since the age in a fully connected network without jammers scales as $\log{n}$.


In this paper, a mathematical model is formulated to study the transmission dynamics of the novel coro- navirus infection under the effect of treatment. The compartmental model is firstly formulated using a system of nonlinear ordinary differential equations. Then, with the help of Caputo operator, the model is reformulated in order to obtain deeper insights into disease dynamics. The basic mathematical features of the time fractional model are rigorously presented. The nonlinear least square procedure is implemented in order to parameterize the model using COVID-19 cumulative cases in Saudi Arabia for the selected time period. The important threshold parameter called the basic reproduction number is evaluated based on the estimated parameters and is found R 0 ≈ 1 . 60 . The fractional Lyapunov approach is used to prove the global stability of the model around the disease free equilibrium point. Moreover, the model in Caputo sense is solved numerically via an efficient numerical scheme known as the fractional Adamas-Bashforth-Molten approach. Finally, the model is simulated to present the graphical impact of memory index and various intervention strategies such as social-distancing, disinfection of the virus from environment and treatment rate on the pandemic peaks. This study emphasizes the important role of various


This paper analyses the synergies between press and politics in the debate on the regulation of complementary and alternative medicines (CAM) in Spain between 1979 and 2018. We argue that longitudinal analysis and comparison of this interaction and synergy reveal how the mainstream discourse has shifted. We use a dataset of news (N  =  2,059), a news sample (n  =  325) and a dataset of parliamentary records (N  =  86). Using both quantitative and qualitative approaches, the dynamics of the interaction between the different institutions and actors involved is assessed. Specifically, the study analyses the media and parliamentary attention to CAM issues (agenda setting), how CAM is addressed (framing), and the actors who have a voice in the discourse (costructuring of power relations). The results indicate that relevant changes in the public debate on CAM have only occurred over the last few years, corresponding to three overlapping dynamics of influence of the media on politics: amplification, framing, and costructuring of power relations. This recent period has seen convergence in the discussion and narratives/frames used, which also corresponds to more widespread skepticism regarding CAM.


The mechanical interactions of cells are mediated through adhesive interactions. In this study, we examined the growth, cellular behavior, and adhesion of MDCK epithelial cells on three different SiO2 substrates: amorphous glass coverslips and the silicon oxide layers that grow on ⟨111⟩ and ⟨100⟩ wafers. While compositionally all three substrates are almost similar, differences in surface energy result in dramatic differences in epithelial cell morphology, cell-cell adhesion, cell-substrate adhesion, actin organization, and extracellular matrix (ECM) protein expression. We also observe striking differences in ECM protein binding to the various substrates due to the hydrogen bond interactions. Our results demonstrate that MDCK cells have a robust response to differences in substrates that is not obviated by nanotopography or surface composition and that a cell's response may manifest through subtle differences in surface energies of the materials. This work strongly suggests that other properties of a material other than composition and topology should be considered when interpreting and controlling interactions of cells with a substrate, whether it is synthetic or natural.


finding of the lump. In these cases the condition could not have been suspected by clinical examination alone. It has been suggested that " plasma-cell mastitis " can be diagnosed clinically. I think that the time has come when any surgeon who indulges in this type of guess-work should be brought to task for his errors. Biopsy is a simple and safe procedure and should be carried out in all cases of breast tumour. Any risk, discomfort, or inconvenience which may be occasioned to the patient by this trivial procedure cannot be weighed against the surgical crime, in the treatment of a lesion that may be malignant, of temporizing until the opportunity for its successful ablation has been irretrievably lost. In my experience the pathologist has had no difficulty in recognizing the inflammatory nature of the condition by the technique of quick-frozen section. The actual diagnosis has sometimes been in doubt, due to lack of acquaintance with the disease, but it has always been -possible to rule out malignancy by this means. Some of the cases have been labelled "atypical tuberculosis," but the differentiation between the two conditions is not difficult when it is remembered 'that plasma-cell mastitis involves the ducts and periductal tissues, while tuberculosis usually has a perivascular and perilymphatic distribution. Furthermore, in tuberculosis typical tubercles are nearly always found, and they often contain caseous centres. In plasma-cell mastitis the tubercles are artifactual and caseation is not discernible. The experiences of Rodman and Luibschitz4 serve as a warning that major surgery should be delayed until after the subsidence of the inflammatory stage. Dr. Cutler's observations on the radiosensitivity of the lesion during this period are interesting, but in view of the morbidity of irradiation and the tendency shown by the lesions to subside spontaneously the time-honoured ritual of painting the part daily with iodine is probably all that is needed in the acute stage after the diagnosis has been established by biopsy. Local removal of the residual lump or simple mastectomy should be carried out when the lesion is no longer painful or tender. There is no indication for radical surgery. In the case reported by Gronwald5 part of the plasma-cell exudate was left behind and no harm resulted. I am not aware of any evidence to suggest a relationship between plasma-cell mastitis and carcinoma. Even if a case were to be reported in which the two conditions coexisted, the possibility of pure coincidence would have to be taken into consideration. Dr. Cutler's case of bilateral plasma-cell mastitis is the only one that has come to my notice. Two of the patients in the Mayo Clinic series gave a history of disease in the other breast, a cyst in one case and an abscess in the other. In the remainder the contralateral breast was free from disease. Dr. Cutler is to be congratulated on his discovery of this unique case.-I am, etc., Ottawa. Ontario. COLIN D. L. CROMAR. REFERENCES 1 Cheatle, G. L., and Cutler, M., Tumours of the Breast, 1931, pp. 298-304. London: Arnold and Co. 2 Proc. Mayo Clin., 1941, 16, 775. 3 Ann. Surg., 1939, 109, 921. 4 Acta radiol., Stockh., 1943, 24, 403. a Zbl. chir., 1931, 58, 663.


1. S-Aminoethylcysteinyl derivatives of the A and B chains of cod insulin were prepared from the individual S-sulpho chains. 2. Studies on small peptides derived from the S-aminoethylated peptide chains by treatment with trypsin allowed the amino acid sequences in the region of the cysteinyl residues of the A and B peptide chains to be defined. 3. The six amide groups in cod insulin were located by complete digestion of small peptides from the A and B chains with aminopeptidase followed by amino acid analyses. 4. The results, together with previous studies on the oxidized A and B chains, define the sequences of the 51 amino acids that constitute cod insulin.


Sequence variability in MHC class II molecules plays a major role in genetically determined susceptibility to insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM). It is not yet clear whether MHC class II polymorphism allows selective binding of diabetogenic peptides or regulates some key intracellular events associated with class II-restricted Ag presentation. In this study, we have employed gene transfer techniques to analyze the intracellular events that control peptide acquisition by the unique class II molecule expressed by nonobese diabetic mice (I-Ag7). This structurally unique class II molecule fails to demonstrate stable binding to antigenic peptides and fails to undergo the conformational change associated with stable peptide binding to class II molecules. The experiments reported here demonstrate that I-Ag7 can productively associate with two protein cofactors important in class II-restricted Ag presentation, invariant chain (Ii) and DM. DM participates in the removal of the Ii-derived class II-associated Ii chain peptide and the p12 degradation product from the I-Ag7 molecule. In addition, I-Ag7 undergoes a conformational change when DM is expressed within the APC. Finally, DM can mediate accumulation of peptide/class II complexes on the surface of APCs. Collectively, our experiments indicate that the failure of the I-Ag7 molecule to stably bind peptide cannot be attributed to a failure to interact with the DM or Ii glycoproteins.


In this work, we present a novel probabilistic appearance representation and describe its application to surprise detection in the context of cognitive mobile robots. The luminance and chrominance of the environment are modeled by Gaussian distributions which are determined from the robot's observations using Bayesian inference. The parameters of the prior distributions over the mean and the precision of the Gaussian models are stored at a dense series of viewpoints along the robot's trajectory. Our probabilistic representation provides us with the expected appearance of the environment and enables the robot to reason about the uncertainty of the perceived luminance and chrominance. Hence, our representation provides a framework for the detection of surprising events, which facilitates attentional selection. In our experiments, we compare the proposed approach with surprise detection based on image differencing. We show that our surprise measure is a superior detector for novelty estimation compared to the measure provided by image differencing.


This article on partnering and family‐resemblance makes two contributions to the debate about the definition of partnering in construction. The first is a distinction between general prerequisites, components and goals when discussing the concept. In order to understand what is specific about partnering the focus should be on the components, which are identified through a literature review. The second contribution is to apply Ludwig Wittgenstein's idea of family‐resemblance to the partnering concept. His idea is that a complex concept can be understood as a network of overlapping similarities. From the literature review it is concluded that there are two necessary components in partnering – trust and mutual understanding – and that a number of different components can be added to form a specific variant of partnering. This provides a new method to define the vague and multifaceted concept of partnering in a flexible and structured way.


The initial psychometric evaluation of the Turkish adaptation of the short version of the Social and Emotional Loneliness Scale for Adults (SELSA-S; DiTommaso, Brannen, & Best, 2004) is described. The SELSA-S was designed to measure social and emotional (family and romantic) loneliness (DiTommaso, Brannen, & Best, 2004; DiTommaso & Spinner, 1993). After translating the SELSA-S into Turkish both exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were performed on samples of graduate ( N = 326) and undergraduate students ( N = 226). In addition, test-retest reliability was assessed using a sample of undergraduate students ( N = 50). Results showed that the factor structure of the Turkish version of the SELSA-S was largely similar to the original one. Finally, each subscale demonstrated high internal consistency, and as predicted was correlated with theoretically related loneliness measures and other relevant constructs, along with displaying temporal stability. Test-retest reliability coefficients for the social, family and romantic subscales were .88, .83 and .91, respectively. Thus, initial results indicate that the scores of the Turkish version of the SELSA-S are reliable and valid for a multidimensional measure of loneliness.


Introduced rodents and possums in New Zealand eat flowers, fruits, seeds and seedlings, but little is known about their impact on forest regeneration. We investigated seedling establishment in exclosures with mesh of two different sizes to exclude (1) possums and (2) possums and rats, at two mainland forest sites (beech- podocarp-broadleaved and second-growth broadleaved-podocarp) near Dunedin. We recorded all new woody seedlings that established over the next 2 years. The number of seedlings with true leaves differed significantly between treatments after 1.5 years at both sites and after 2 years in beech-podocarp-broadleaved forest. This effect was broadly consistent across all species including pepper tree (Pseudowintera colorata), whose adult foliage is unpalatable to possums. Cotyledonous seedlings were relatively ephemeral, but differed significantly in abundance between treatments in second-growth broadleaved-podocarp forest after 1.5 and 2 years. In second- growth broadleaved-podocarp forest, possums were present throughout the study but rats were rare. Numbers of seedlings did not differ significantly between exclosures with different mesh sizes which admitted or excluded rats. In beech-podocarp-broadleaved forest, rats were present periodically throughout the study, but possums may have been scarce during the final 7 months as a result of pest control. At this location, 80 seedlings with true leaves occurred in exclosures that excluded possums and rats, 3.6 times as many as on control plots and 2.1 times as many as in exclosures that deterred only possums. The consequences of these pest impacts on seedling recruitment for forest regeneration must be confirmed in longer-term studies. Exclosures can be effectively used to experimentally separate the impacts of different herbivores on seedling establishment.


Motherhood is associated with lower hourly pay, but the causes of this are not well understood. Mothers may earn less than other women because having children causes them to (1) lose job experience, (2) be less productive at work, (3) trade off higher wages for mother-friendly jobs, or (4) be discriminated against by employers. Or the relationship may be spurious rather than causal—women with lower earning potential may have children at relatively higher rates. The authors use data from the 1982–1993 National Longitudinal Survey of Youth with fixed-effects models to examine the wage penalty for motherhood. Results show a wage penalty of 7 percent per child. Penalties are larger for married women than for unmarried women. Women with (more) children have fewer years of job experience, and after controlling for experience a penalty of 5 percent per child remains. "Mother-friendly" characteristics of the jobs held by mothers explain little of the penalty beyond the tendency of more mothers than non-mothers to work part-time. The portion of the motherhood penalty unexplained probably results from the effect of motherhood on productivity and/or from discrimination by employers against mothers. While the benefits of mothering diffuse widely—to the employers, neighbors, friends, spouses, and children of the adults who received the mothering—the costs of child rearing are borne disproportionately by mothers.


This workshop will bring lis-e-journals to life for the UKSG conference. It will explore and follow up some of the hot topics of the day as discussed on lis-e-journals, an informal open list set up by the UK Serials Group (http://www.jiscmail. ac.uk/lists/LIS-E-JOURNALS.html). Librarians, publishers, aggregators and subscription agents should come along to share their thoughts and experiences - Lesley and Graham will ensure fair play at all times. Conclusions from the sessions will then be published in Serials. Participants will be encouraged to submit questions in advance.


The current-fed dual active bridge (CF-DAB) dc-dc converter gains growing applications in photovoltaic (PV) and energy storage systems due to its advantages, e.g., a wide input voltage range, a high step-up ratio, a low input current ripple, and a multiport interface capability. In addition, the direct input current controllability and extra control freedom of the CF-DAB converter make it possible to buffer the double-line-frequency energy in grid-interactive PV systems without using electrolytic capacitors in the dc link. Therefore, a PV system achieves high reliability and highly efficient maximum power point tracking. This paper studies the optimized operation of a CF-DAB converter for a PV application in order to improve the system efficiency. The operating principle and soft-switching conditions over the wide operating range are thoroughly analyzed with phase-shift control and duty-cycle control, and an optimized operating mode is proposed to achieve the minimum root-mean-square transformer current. The proposed operating mode can extend the soft-switching region and reduce the power loss, particularly under a heavy load and a high input voltage. Moreover, the efficiency can be further improved with a higher dc-link voltage. A 5-kW hardware prototype was built in the laboratory, and experimental results are provided for verification. This paper provides a design guideline for the CF-DAB converter applied to PV systems, as well as other applications with a wide input voltage variation.


The collection of large-scale administrative records in electronic form by many cities provides a new opportunity for the measurement and longitudinal tracking of neighborhood characteristics, but one that will require novel methodologies that convert such data into research-relevant measures. The authors illustrate these challenges by developing measures of "broken windows" from Boston's constituent relationship management (CRM) system (aka 311 hotline). A 16-month archive of the CRM database contains more than 300,000 address-based requests for city services, many of which reference physical incivilities (e.g., graffiti removal). The authors carry out three ecometric analyses, each building on the previous one. Analysis 1 examines the content of the measure, identifying 28 items that constitute two independent constructs, private neglect and public denigration. Analysis 2 assesses the validity of the measure by using investigator-initiated neighborhood audits to examine the "civic response rate" across neighborhoods. Indicators of civic response were then extracted from the CRM database so that measurement adjustments could be automated. These adjustments were calibrated against measures of litter from the objective audits. Analysis 3 examines the reliability of the composite measure of physical disorder at different spatiotemporal windows, finding that census tracts can be measured at two-month intervals and census block groups at six-month intervals. The final measures are highly detailed, can be tracked longitudinally, and are virtually costless. This framework thus provides an example of how new forms of large-scale administrative data can yield ecometric measurement for urban science while illustrating the methodological challenges that must be addressed.


A frightening, growing epidemic of senseless, irrational and inexcusable violence has seized the United States. While it involves all ages and localities, the occurrences are predominantly in areas of poverty, poor housing and unemployment. Children, particularly the adolescent and young adult male black population, are at greatest risk. There are recognized many contributing forces such as low self-esteem, family disruption and single parenting. Country-wide there is easy access to guns and lack of gun safety guards. Violent television sets an example for our youth and lends an air of adventure and excitement to their lives. The solution to this enormous problem is clearly not an easy one and must be through a combination of many social and legal changes. This is most assuredly a medical problem and demands thought and active participation by physicians. There are a number of strategies for physicians, especially pediatricians. We must look carefully at family interactions, attempting to promote more kindly behaviors, enhance self-esteem. School-age children can be helped through office discussions and collaboration with teachers. "Leave the knives and guns at home, avoid noisy arguments, use more kindly words." "Television is not real life; the actors do not die." These are our people. Their needs are great. We must help.


Background: Anterior chamber angle (ACA) can be measured by many different techniques. In order for a technique to be a part of the routine eye examination, it has to be quick and easy in good agreement with gonioscopy both nasally and temporally. Aim: To investigate variation in ACA measurement between gonioscopy, van Herick technique, anterior segment optical coherence tomography (AS-OCT) and Sirius Scheimpflug-Camera both nasally and temporally. Method: The ACA of 50 eyes of 25 healthy subjects was measured with gonioscopy, van Herick technique, AS-OCT and Sirius Scheimpflug-Camera. The angle was measured both nasally and temporally. Results: No statistically significant difference could be found between gonioscopy, van Herick technique and AS-OCT either nasally or temporally. The Sirius Scheimpflug-Camera on the other hand showed statistically significant difference to gonioscopy (p < 0.0001), van Herick technique (p < 0.0001) and AS-OCT (p < 0.0001) both nasally (p = 0.03, p = 0.001, p < 0.0001) and temporally (p = 0.0002, p = 0.001, p < 0.0001). Conclusion: This study showed good agreement between three of the four techniques. ACA measurements obtained by the Sirius Scheimpflug-Camera should therefore not be considered interchangeable with those obtained by the remaining three methods.


For portrait matting without the green screen, existing works either require auxiliary inputs that are costly to obtain or use multiple models that are computationally expensive. Consequently, they are unavailable in real-time applications. In contrast, we present a light-weight matting objective decomposition network (MODNet), which can process portrait matting from a single input image in real time. The design of MODNet benefits from optimizing a series of correlated sub-objectives simultaneously via explicit constraints. Moreover, since trimap-free methods usually suffer from the domain shift problem in practice, we introduce (1) a self-supervised strategy based on sub-objectives consistency to adapt MODNet to real-world data and (2) a one-frame delay trick to smooth the results when applying MODNet to portrait video sequence.
MODNet is easy to be trained in an end-to-end style. It is much faster than contemporaneous matting methods and runs at 63 frames per second. On a carefully designed portrait matting benchmark newly proposed in this work, MODNet greatly outperforms prior trimap-free methods. More importantly, our method achieves remarkable results in daily photos and videos. Now, do you really need a green screen for real-time portrait matting?


ABSTRACT Testicular cancer is considered a rare disease affecting approximately 1% to 2% of the male population. This neoplasm has a cure rate of over 95%; as a result, a major concern is the future of fertility of carriers from this disease. There are several histological subtypes of testicular tumors; however, the Testicular Germ Cell Tumors (TGCTs), comprising both seminoma and non-seminoma tumors, are considered the main subtypes of testicular neoplasms. TGCT are characterized by being a solid tumor that mostly affects young men aged between 15 and 40 years old. While TGCT subtypes may have an invasive potential, seminoma subtype does not affect other cells rather than germ cells, while non-seminomas have more invasive properties and can achieve somatic cells; thus, having a more aggressive nature. This research intends to review the literature regarding information about sperm parameters, correlating the data found in those studies to the subfertility and infertility of patients with TCGTs. Furthermore, it will also correlate the data to the non-seminoma and seminoma histological subtypes from pre- and post-cancer therapy. PubMed databases were used. Searched keywords included: seminoma AND non-seminoma; male infertility; germ cell tumor; chemotherapy AND radiotherapy. Only articles published in English were considered. Current studies demonstrate that both TGCT subtypes promote deleterious effects on semen quality resulting in decreased sperm concentration, declined sperm total motility and an increase in the morphology alterations. However, findings suggest that the non-seminoma subtype effects are more pronounced and deleterious. More studies will be necessary to clarify the behavior of seminoma and non-seminoma tumors implicating the reproductive health of male patients.


Microelectromechanical beam resonators and arrays are fabricated using a custom low-temperature complementary-metal-oxide-semiconductor-compatible silicon carbide microfabrication process, detailed in Part I of this paper. Theoretical aspects are presented with modal analysis and numerical methods. Measurements of the resonant frequency, the quality factor, the transmission, and the tuning characteristics are presented for different device types and dimensions. Trends are analyzed, and performance metrics dependences are investigated. A tuning method based on integrated heaters is introduced and tested, yielding a very desirable constant insertion-loss tuning and a wide tuning range. Quality factors of up to 1493 and resonant frequencies of up to 26.2 MHz are demonstrated. Both the Young's modulus and the residual stress of the SiC film are extracted (261 GPa and <; ±30 MPa, respectively), and favorably compare to values reported for polysilicon.


The ability to quantify the uncertainty in the prediction of a Bayesian deep learning model has significant practical implications—from more robust machine-learning based systems to more effective expert-in-the loop processes. While several general measures of model uncertainty exist, they are often intractable in practice when dealing with high dimensional data such as long sequences. Instead, researchers often resort to ad hoc approaches or to introducing independence assumptions to make computation tractable. We introduce a principled approach to estimate uncertainty in high dimensions that circumvents these challenges, and demonstrate its benefits in de novo molecular design.


This study aims to utilize seaweed as a substitute on Japanese Nori foodstuffs and can be
consumed by the community. Seaweed is a raw material that is widely used for various
purposes such as additional ingredients on cosmetics or or just made in addition to the
drink on ice mix. With this research is expected to seaweed in the making of Nori can be
replaced with green grass jelly. Because Japanese food such as Nori is now commonly
found in almost all major cities in Indonesia. The method used is an experimental
method which will be making products with the trial of the treatment of the control
over the products studied were Nori. After conducting experiments then performed
using the Sensory Testing instrument in the form of a questionnaire about Organoleptik
Test and Test hedonic committed to the panelists, to find out the differences as well as
the level of preference on taste, texture and aroma. Descriptive test was then performed
to give a snapshot of data from Appearance and hedonic test has been done. Then do the
data analysis using the Test Independent T-test to determine significant differences
between the arithmetic mean of the control and treatment products.
Keywords: Trial, Seaweed, Green Grass Jelly, Nori


The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic that causes COVID-19 has had a global impact and has led to a disruptive change in the everyday lives of millions of people. The closure of schools and research centres has forced a complex shift towards a model of distance learning and work in which Teachers, Researchers and Students have had to adapt quickly. This study aimed to know the impacts of COVID-19 on teaching and research within the APSI community - Portuguese Association of Information Systems. To this end, an online questionnaire was created by AIS - Association for Information Systems, in the APSI community, and subsequently developed workshops to deepen knowledge of the limitations that the pandemic brought to the daily lives of members. The results of this study draw a more negative scenario, where respondents point to an increase in the workload, a decrease in scientific productivity and a negative impact on the relationship with the family. © 2022 Associacao Portuguesa de Sistemas de Informacao. All rights reserved.


This study evaluates methods for clustering web users via vector space models, for the purpose of web page prefetching for possible applications of server optimization. An experiment using Latent Semantic Analysis (LSA) is deployed to investigate whether LSA can reproduce the encouraging results obtained from previous research with Random Indexing (RI) and a chaos based optimization algorithm (CAS-C). This is not only motivated by LSA being yet another vector space model, but also by a study indicating LSA to outperform RI in a task similar to the web user clustering and prefetching task. The prefetching task was used to verify the applicability of LSA, where both RI and CAS-C have shown promising results [1, 2, 3]. The original data set from the RI web user clustering and prefetching task was modeled using weighted (tf − idf) LSA. Clusters were defined using a common clustering algorithm (k-means). The least scattered cluster configuration for the model was identified by combining an internal validity measure (SSE) and a relative criterion validity measure (SD index). The assumed optimal cluster configuration was used for the web page prefetching task. Precision and recall of the LSA based method is found to be on par with RI and CAS-C, in as much that it solves the web user clustering and web task with similar characteristics as unweighted RI. The hypothesized inherent gains to precision and recall by using LSA was neither confirmed nor conclusively disproved. The effects of different weighting functions for RI are discussed and a number of methodological factors are identified for further research concerning LSA based clustering and prefetching.


People experiencing homelessness experience high rates of physical assault. While this high risk for victimization is well established, there is no research that examines whether victimization rates change over time as persons transition into permanent supportive housing (PSH). Data are from a longitudinal study of adults moving into PSH in the Los Angeles, CA area. Interviews were conducted prior to or within 5 days of moving in, with follow-up interviews at 3, 6, and 12 months after move-in (n = 370 participants completing all four interviews). Each interview assessed characteristics of past 3-month physical assault. Analyses examined change in rates of assault over time and differences by demographic subgroups. We also present findings on the most common locations and perpetrators of assault. Overall, rates of physical assault decreased after participants entered PSH. Statistically significant differences by subgroups varied by time point. Differences identified include higher rates of physical assault among Latino/a respondents, lower rates among African Americans, and higher rates of physical assault among lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) respondents. The most frequent location of assault was outside at baseline, 3- and 6-month time points. Strangers were the most common perpetrator at all time points. Rates of perpetration by neighbors nearly doubled from baseline to the 12-month time point, and inside locations for assault were most common at this time point as well. While PSH is an effective intervention in reducing chronic homelessness, it is important to consider other risks to overall health and well-being, such as physical victimization.


The synthesis of Au@mesoporous SiO(2)/rhodamine B isothiocyanate (Au@mSiO(2)/RBITC) composite nanoparticles (NPs) is presented and their unique biofunctional properties are studied. The structure and morphology of the NPs are characterized by X-ray powder diffraction, transmission electron microscopy, and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. These NPs can not only be functionalized for fluorescence imaging, but also possess well-defined mesopore structures for drug loading and strong infrared surface plasmon absorption for light-controlled drug release and photothermal therapy for cancer cells. In the biological experiments, one 808 nm laser is coupled to a confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM) system to monitor the photothermal therapy, drug release, and cell position and viability in real time by using the multichannel function of CLSM for the first time. Such novel nanomaterials offer a new chemotherapeutic route for cancer treatment by combining cell imaging and hyperthermia in a synergistic way.


The importance of a lead-acid battery in our daily life needs no explanation. Automotive batteries in their dominant part were made with hard rubber holders and heavy plates and the service life was two years. On the other hand, in stationary batteries, open Planet style cells were still being used and got an additional arrangement of positive plates once the primary set was exhausted. The world has improved significantly from that point forward, both in structure and innovation. Still, the lead-corrosive battery for rechargeable frameworks has not changed, despite there is no indication that it tends to be supplanted close to term by secondary battery framework. So, it is advantageous to take a gander at enhancements in the innovation of battery creation that have occurred essentially in the course of the most recent ten years. Thyristor innovation and micro-processor control take into account strategies that one could dream about in previous times. From a car battery to a UPS inverter, we daily need the services of a lead-acid battery. Considering these aspects, the current research is an effort to provide such solutions so, that the working life of the lead-acid battery increases by not increasing its manufacturing cost. It was found that the two added substances methane sulfonic acid (MSA) and aminomethyl sulfonic acid (AMSA) to lead-acid batteries can enhance the electro-chemical performance and thermal stability of which MSA shows the best impact.


A neonate with H-type fistula between esophagus and right bronchus is described. He presented with an uncommon symptom of hypersialosis. The fistula was missed both at cinesophagogram and endoscopy, the modalities currently held as investigations of choice for the diagnosis of this entity. Instead it was incidentally picked up by radionuclide study undertaken to rule out dyskinesia or gross gastroesophageal reflux, which demonstrated the tract unequivocally. To the best of our knowledge this modality has not been used earlier for this purpose. The authors feel that although persistence in attempts to demonstrate the tract preoperatively is important, radionuclide study can also be considered as a diagnostic tool in difficult cases.


Many databases for soybean genomic analysis have been built and made publicly available, but few of them contain knowledge specifically targeting the omics-level gene–gene, gene–microRNA (miRNA) and miRNA–miRNA interactions. Here, we present SoyFN, a knowledge database of soybean functional gene networks and miRNA functional networks. SoyFN provides user-friendly interfaces to retrieve, visualize, analyze and download the functional networks of soybean genes and miRNAs. In addition, it incorporates much information about KEGG pathways, gene ontology annotations and 3′-UTR sequences as well as many useful tools including SoySearch, ID mapping, Genome Browser, eFP Browser and promoter motif scan. SoyFN is a schema-free database that can be accessed as a Web service from any modern programming language using a simple Hypertext Transfer Protocol call. The Web site is implemented in Java, JavaScript, PHP, HTML and Apache, with all major browsers supported. We anticipate that this database will be useful for members of research communities both in soybean experimental science and bioinformatics. Database URL: http://nclab.hit.edu.cn/SoyFN


Physico-chemical properties and interaction with actin of an actin- depolymerizing protein from mature starfish oocytes were studied. This protein, which is called depactin, exists in a monomeric form under physiological conditions. Its molecular weight is approximately 20,000 for the native protein and approximately 17,000 for denatured protein. The Glu + Asp/Lys + Arg molar ratio of this protein is 1.55. The apparent pl of the denatured depactin is approximately 6. The extent of actin polymerization is reduced by the presence of depactin; however, the rate of polymerization seems to be accelerated as measured spectrophotometrically at 238nm. This effect is interpreted to indicate that depactin cut the newly formed filaments into small fragments, thereby increasing the number of the filament ends to which monomers are added. The apparent critical concentration of actin for polymerization, as determined by viscometry or flow birefringence measurement, is increased by the presence of depactin in a concentration-dependent manner. Raising the pH of the solution does not reverse the action of depactin. The molar ratio of actin and depactin, which interact with each other, is estimated to be 1:1 by means of a cross-linking experiment using a water-soluble carbodiimide. Depactin binds to a DNase I-Sepharose column via actin and is selectively eluted with 0.6 M KCl or 0.6 M Kl. The association constant between actin and depactin is estimated, using the column, to be 2-3 X 10(6) M-1. The content of depactin in the high-speed supernatant of the oocyte extract is determined to be 1%; this can act upon approximately 63% of the actin in the supernatant.


The Australian Government Department of
Health and Ageing established OzFoodNet in
2000 to collaborate nationally to investigate
foodborne disease. OzFoodNet conducts studies
on the burden of illness, coordinates national
investigations into outbreaks of foodborne disease,
develops nationally standardised protocols and
tools for surveillance, identifi es foods or commodities
that may cause human illness and trains
people to investigate foodborne illness. This quarterly
report documents investigation of outbreaks
of gastrointestinal illness and clusters of disease
potentially related to food, occurring in Australia
from 1 April to 30 June 2010.


In a sewing process, there is a close interaction between several factors: the working parts of the sewing machine which are actioned by an electric drive, the material (type, number of layers, the relative position of the layers) with different parts of the sewing machine and the worker (level of qualification). The result of this complex interaction is the seam. A good correlation between the working parts of the sewing machine determines a good seam, which is visible when one inspects the aspect of the garment. It is important for a clothing engineer to understand the mechanisms of a sewing machine (how they should work, as well as the correlation between their movements), because the final result (the seam) must fulfil the quality requirements. The interactions between the working parts of the sewing machine are analysed by taking into consideration the stages of the stitching process and the cyclorama of the sewing machine. A cyclorama is a graphical representation of the correlation between the active routes between all of the components of the sewing machine involved in the stitching process. The active route of a working part (component) involved in the aforementioned process is defined as the time it needs to make a complete movement (a point placed on the component describes a complete trajectory). The active work part rate is the time in which the machine part takes part in the stitching process and it is determined by the rotation angle of the main shaft (or the flywheel) measured from the moment when the working part gets involved in the process until the one it ceases to be so. In this paper, the authors present the stages of designing the cyclorama of a sewing machine used in evaluating if it is working properly or not. If they are provided with video tutorials, the students will be able to understand the moments in which the components of the sewing machines become involved in the process and the ones in which they cease to do so, their role in the process of sewing, as well as the relative positions of the working parts at specific moments. The cyclorama is useful in determining the angles of rotation of the main shaft corresponding to the active races of each working part.


Practice faculty members are often supervised by more than one individual, creating a reporting structure that mirrors a matrix organization. They are tasked with balancing administrative and teaching responsibilities established by the school with expectations of maintaining a pharmacy practice site. A matrix reporting structure offers opportunities for enhanced development, but risks of additional stress from the organizational complexity must be mitigated to reduce job dissatisfaction. Frequent and consistent communication, mutual agreement and alignment of expectations and priorities, and the ability to manage conflict and adapt to change will aid pharmacy practice faculty in managing the relationship between their primary employer (the school) and the contracted entity.
Conflict of Interest
We declare no conflicts of interest or financial interests that the authors or members of their immediate families have in any product or service discussed in the manuscript, including grants (pending or received), employment, gifts, stock holdings or options, honoraria, consultancies, expert testimony, patents and royalties.

Type: Original Research


With the growing need for quality assessment of entire software systems in the industry, new issues are emerging. First, because most software quality metrics are defined at the level of individual software components, there is a need for aggregation methods to summarize the results at the system level. Second, because a software evaluation requires the use of different metrics, with possibly widely varying output ranges, there is a need to combine these results into a unified quality assessment. In this paper we derive, from our experience on real industrial cases and from the scientific literature, requirements for an aggregation method. We then present a solution through the Squale model for metric aggregation, a model specifically designed to address the needs of practitioners. We empirically validate the adequacy of Squale through experiments on Eclipse. Additionally, we compare the Squale model to both traditional aggregation techniques (e.g., the arithmetic mean), and to econometric inequality indices (e.g., the Gini or the Theil indices), recently applied to aggregation of software metrics. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.


Isotopic geothermometry is an important tool to clarify the thermal history of the metamorphic events because of independence of pressure. When applying the thermometer, it is necessary that the temperature dependence of the fractionation factors among the rock forming minerals be well calibrated.Carbon isotopic geothermometry between calcite and graphite is the most suitable thermometer to record peak metamorphic temperatures in crystalline limestone, because of the inert property of graphite in an isotopic exchange reaction during retrograde metamorphism. Various authors and approaches have reported fractionation factors in the calcitegraphite system. There is, however, still inconsistency among experimental, theoretical, and empirical results. In particular, the slope of the fractionation curve for temperature dependence still has a discrepancy between theoretical-experimental and empirical data. The causes of this discrepancy may be due to uncertainty in individual approaches, e.g., in experimental studies, uncertainty as to the reaction mechanism due to the inert property of crystalline graphite for isotopic exchange experiments ; in theoretical studies, uncertainty caused by a deficiency of reliable data on the vibrational frequency of calcite and graphite crystals; and, in empirical studies, incomplete crystallinity of carbonaceous matter.According to empirical data on carbon isotopic systematics, in crystalline limestone that metamorphosed at temperatures higher than 400°C, isotopic equilibria have been mostly attained in many cases. At temperatures lower than 400°C, data sets show an increased disequilibrium. Because the carbon isotopic fractionation between calcite-graphite is more than 3‰ at about 700°C, this thermometer has great potential as a tool for determining ultra-high temperature metamorphism. Furthermore, because of the inert property of graphite in an isotopic exchange reaction during retrograde metamorphism, graphite-calcite assemblage is the most probable candidate for preserving the highest temperature condition. Again, carbon isotopic zonation in graphite crystal could provide another tool to clarify the thermal history of polymetamorphic terrains.Oxygen isotopic thermometry was long been widely used to determine the temperatures of metamorphic rocks. It has long been recognized that oxygen isotope thermometers often record discordant temperatures during slowly cooling retrograde metamorphism, because of a relatively rapid diffusion rate during retrograde metamorphism. Revised correction techniques for re-equilibration during a retrograde isotopic exchange reaction under the such high temperatures help in using oxygen isotopic thermometry in deducing thermal history.


The substantial potential applications of lignin-degrading microbes and enzymes have spurred research on lignin biodegradation in recent years. As described here, that research has led to the discovery in the basidiomycete Phanerochaete chrysosporium of the first lignin-degrading enzymes and elucidation of their mode of action. A family of powerful extracellular peroxidase isoenzymes has been the focus of most investigations. The key catalytic reaction of these glycoproteins, in the presence of hydrogen peroxide, is one-electron oxidation of aromatic nuclei, generating unstable aryl cation radicals. These decompose via a number of reactions, which have been elucidated with dimeric model compounds for lignin. The involvement of carboncentred and peroxyl free-radical intermediates has been established. The peroxyl intermediates result from the addition of molecular oxygen to the C-centred radicals. Strong evidence for a classical peroxidase-type catalytic cycle of the ligninases has been obtained. The major research need is to identify the full complement of enzymes needed to degrade lignin to small fragments; this degradation is not accomplished by the isolated ligninases or by the crude extracellular mixture of enzymes secreted by cultures as they degrade lignin.


Background: The ovarian tissue cryopreservation has been achieved a great notoriety in the Reproductive Biology area, due to its potential in preserving female fertility through the protection of exocrine and endocrine functions of the ovary. The association of this technique with in vitro culture and/or transplant in adult or young individuals who has not initiated its reproductive activities represents not only the conservation and perpetuation of the genetic material of economic valuable animals, but also the preservation of female gametes from endangered species, or even from young women who may have ovarian dysfunctions caused by gonadotoxic treatments. Studies with some species (human, mice and ovine) have demonstrated the recovery of the ovarian function and the birth of healthy offspring after transplant of ovarian tissue which has been previously cryopreserved. However, most studies have shown that ovarian cryopreservation process offer risks to different structures (follicle and stroma) as well as to the different cell types (oocyte, granulosa, thecal and stromal cells), which constitute this tissue. Review: Extreme cold, intracellular ice crystallization, osmotic shock and the toxicity of the cryoprotectant agents are factors that are usually associated with the injuries caused by the cryopreservation process. As a direct or indirect consequence, those factors limit the success of the cryopreservation of ovarian tissue, since they affect the survival or alter the tissue functionality or cellular structure, like the ovarian follicles, for example, after the thawing/warming procedure. Among the injuries that may take place as a consequence of those factors, we can mention: cell death by the necrotic or apoptotic pathways; alterations in normal levels of genic expression; ischemia and changes of communication and interaction between the oocyte and follicular cells. As a result, many authors have studied and developed protocols of cryopreservation that may prevent or minimize the cryoinjuries, since the cryopreservation per si or combined to other techniques (in vitro culture and/or transplant) can compromise the ovarian integrity, leading consequently to a significant loss of follicles. In this regard, the present review seeks to approach the advantages of the cryopreservation of ovarian tissue; indicating the difficulties and challenges that encompass this procedure, with purpose of pointing out solutions to overcome the damages of ovarian tissue cryopreservation, through of convenient cryopreservation protocols that avoid those follicular losses. For this purpose, it is necessary the preservation of the follicular viability as well as the preservation of the tissue integrity and the contact between reproductive (oocytes) or somatic cells, which are essentials to the follicle development, and, consequently, to the embryo production. Conclusion: The use of cryopreserved ovarian tissue is an important strategy to the preservation of female fertility. This tool has being pointed as an alternative way to the cryopreservation of mature oocytes and embryos. However, additional studies are necessary to diminishing the cellular damages inherent to this procedure, especially those related to the comprehension of the obstacles and mechanisms associated to the exposition to extreme cold.


Indolyl fragment containing phenanthroline based new ligands and their corresponding Ru(II) complexes were synthesized and fully characterized by various spectroscopic techniques. The catalytic activity of these newly synthesized cyclometalated (NNC)Ru(II) complexes was explored towards the β-methylation of alcohols using methanol. Notably, these complexes displayed superior reactivity compared to various (NNN)Ru(II) complexes. Utilizing this strategy, a wide range of primary, secondary, and aliphatic straight chain alcohols were selectively methylated. This protocol was further employed for the methylation of a few natural products and the gram scale synthesis of β-methylated alcohols. A series of control experiments and kinetic studies were performed to understand the plausible reaction mechanism.


Functional surfaces are of crucial importance to both fundamental and applied science. Many phenomena are driven by the properties of interfaces: catalysis, corrosion and adhesion to name a few. These properties can be modified using surface functionalisation, which in this thesis is applied to three areas of environmental concern: sustainable catalytic carbon-carbon coupling, atmospheric CO2 sequestration and photocatalytic water purification. Chapter 1 provides an introduction to these three areas and Chapter 2 summarises the common experimental techniques used throughout this thesis.
 Chapters 3 and 4 describe the application of pulsed plasma deposition for production of palladium functionalised catalysts for common carbon-carbon coupling reactions. For low loading palladium catalyst cloths in Chapter 3, high product yields and selectivities have been measured in conjunction with environmentally friendly solvents. In Chapter 4, palladium - poly(ionic liquid) catalyst membranes are described, which demonstrate selective permeation (separation) of the product species through the underlying membrane support. Both low loading palladium catalyst cloths and palladium - poly(ionic liquid) catalyst membranes display low levels of metal leaching allowing them to be recycled multiple times.
 Chapter 5 extends the use of pulsed plasma deposited imidazole moieties to the directed liquid-phase epitaxial (layer-by-layer) growth of metal-organic frameworks (MOFs). The MOF-508 functionalised surface displays CO2 gas capture behaviour at atmospheric concentrations proportional to the number of MOF-508 layers.
 Finally, Chapters 6 and 7 describe the preparation of separable P25 TiO2 based photocatalysts. Micron-sized silica-steel microcomposite core with TiO2 nanocomposite shell photocatalysts were prepared using sol-gel chemistry in Chapter 6. Their application to degradation of waterborne organic pollutants during UV illumination has been demonstrated, along with recycling via magnetic separation. Chapter 7 describes photocatalytic P25-TiO2 composite macrospheres, which possess both UV and visible light photocatalytic activity depending on the synthesis conditions. These macrospheres have been demonstrated for their use in flat bed reactors under visible light irradiation, for application to point of use solar driven removal of water borne contaminants. Additionally, Appendix 1 outlines work carried out on the fundamentals of P25 TiO2 photocatalysts, using XRD and photocatalytic degradation studies.


One of the most interesting scientific challenges nowadays deals with
the analysis and the understanding of complex networks' dynamics and how their
processes lead to emergence according to the interactions among their components.
In this paper we approach the definition of new methodologies for the visualization
and the exploration of the dynamics at play in real dynamic social networks.We
present a recently introduced formalism called TVG (for time-varying graphs), which
was initially developed to model and analyze highly-dynamic and infrastructure-less
communication networks. As an application context, we chose the case of scientific
communities by analyzing a portion of the ArXiv repository (ten years of publications
in physics). The analysis presented in the paper passes through different data
transformations aimed at providing different perspectives on the scientific community
and its evolutions.
On a first level we discuss the dataset by means of both a static and temporal
analysis of citations and co-authorships networks. Afterward, as we consider that
scientific communities are at the same time communities of practice (through coauthorship)
and that a citation represents a deliberative selection pointing out the
relevance of a work in its scientific domain, we introduce a new transformation aimed
at capturing the interdependencies between collaborations' patterns and citations'
effects and how they make evolve a goal oriented systems as Science.
Finally, we show how through the TVG formalism and derived indicators, it is
possible to capture the interactions patterns behind the emergence (selection) of
a sub-community among others, as a goal-driven preferential attachment toward a
set of authors among which there are some key scientists (Nobel prizes) acting as
attractors on the community.


The invention of the Internet and mobile devices has caused tremendous changes in human lives over the past two decades. Information technology has broken through limitations of geospatial space, enabling extremely high-speed data transmission and new types of data services. In recent years, demands for data processing have shown an increasing trend. Furthermore, data generated from internet-related applications such as cloud services and self-driving technology are likely to grow exponentially over the coming years. Currently, data transmission inside integrated circuits mainly relies on metal wires. However, the substantial resistive–capacitive delay and energy loss that are caused by metal wires limit data transmission speeds. Optical interconnection has been regarded as a major solution to efficiently reduce energy consumption and increase data transmission speeds. The size of conventional semiconductor laser devices, which are the key component in optical interconnection, cannot be smaller than the wavelength of light, which is a fundamental physical obstacle to lasers integrating with current electronic integrated circuits in reasonable volumes. To realize optical interconnection, the volume of the laser device must match the existing electronic components. Recently, the use of diffraction-unlimited plasmonic lasers has been successfully demonstrated, and these have great potential in different applications. In this paper, we discuss the recent progress toward surface plasmon polariton lasers and provide practical insights into the challenges in realizing these novel devices.


Multinational corporations are currently confronted with a diverse array of rapidly changing national environmental policies. This article identifies a number of trends in environmental policy around the world and assesses their significance for MNC product, project, environmental affairs, and strategic planning. National environmental policies are seen as becoming better integrated with other resource and social policies, predominantly "preventive" in their emphasis, focused on the impacts of products in their entire life cycles, catalyzed through the efforts of supranational organizations, and diffused more rapidly and widely across borders. These trends call for significant changes in the way MNCs plan their new products and plants, organize environmental management, and design global strategies.


Bone and dentin consist of hydroxyapatite, collagen and body fluid. From biological points of view, we have been focusing on HAp and collagen materials for bone regeneration. The aim of this study is to estimate the appearance of multinuclear giant cells for non-organic (functionally graded HAp: fg-HAp) and organic materials (demineralized dentin matrix: DDM), histologically. The fg-HAp ceramic: Biomimetic fg-HAp was designed by using the partial dissolution-precipitation methods. The fg-HAp with micro-pores of 10-160 nm had larger specific surface areas (30-40 m2・g-1) than the synthetic HAp. Acid- insoluble dentin matrix (DDM): Human teeth were crushed under the cooling, completely demineralized in 0.026N HNO3 solution, and dried. The materials were implanted into the subcutaneous tissues (Wistar rats, 4 week-old, male), and removed at 1 and 4 weeks after the operations. Multinucleated giant cells were counted in the H-E sections. Giant cells predominantly appeared on the biodegradable micro-crystals at 1 week. The number of giant cells was more numerous in fg-HAp than in DDM. There was a significant difference in the cell number between fg-HAp and DDM. The absorption mechanism of fg-HAp should be predominantly cellular phagocytosis, while that of DDM might be predominantly enzymatic digestion. These data support the hypothesis that the biological HAp crystals may function as mineral signal in the recruitment and differentiation of multinucleated giant cells.


When you have [thus] formed the chain of ideas in the heads of your citizens, you will then be able to pride yourselves on guiding them and being their masters. The stupid despot may constrain his slaves with iron chains, but a true politician binds them even more strongly by the chain of their own ideas; it is at the stable point of reason that he secures the end of the chain; this link is all the stronger in that we do not know of what it is made and we believe it to be our own work; despair and time eat away the bonds of iron and steel, but they are powerless against the habitual union of ideas, they can only tighten it still more, and on the soft fibers of the brain is founded the unshakable base of the soundest of Empires. (2)--J. M. Servan, 1767 Congress shall make no law ... abridging the freedom of speech,.... --Amendment I: Constitution of the United States of America, Ratified on 15 December 1791. Introduction In 2001, the assessment provisions of the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) linked "standardized" achievement tests of knowledge to federally funded programs in American public schools. Because virtually all public school systems depend on federal funds for some essential programs, the NCLB assessment provisions effectively locates within the Federal government the most fundamental aspect of public education policy--the power to authorize what counts as knowledge ("truth"). This intrusion would be of little concern if throughout the long history of thought there was absolute consensus regarding what counts as truth. But this is not the case. If knowledge is inextricably intertwined with thought, and speech (in its broadest sense) is the expression of thought, then government authorized "standardized" achievement tests of knowledge would be antithetical to Free Speech provisions of the U. S. Constitution. Even before NCLB, at all levels of government sponsored education policy the use of "standardized" tests of knowledge to measure academic achievement has gone unchallenged on the principles embedded in the Free Speech clause of the First Amendment. At its most fundamental level, the argument herein is a challenge to the intrusion of government, through public education policies, into the private affairs of one's conscience, one's thoughts as First Amendment protected speech relative to what counts as "truth." The fundamental question considered herein is: Do government-sponsored policies that mandate the use of "standardized" achievement tests of knowledge in American public schools violate a student's First Amendment free speech rights? The argument unfolds through a consideration of nine interrelated questions relative to the importance of knowledge in a democratic society. Because at base this critical enquiry is about the role of education in the allocation of values through politics, the first question to be considered concerns the notion that the purpose of public education in American is to prepare students for citizenship. 1.0 What Is the Primary Purpose of American Public Education? Although as an institution American public education over its history has arguably acquired many purposes, the belief that the primary purpose of American public education is to prepare children to assume the fundamental political office of citizen has extended from the Founders to the present. In 1779, Thomas Jefferson, in notes explaining his "Bill for the More General Diffusion of Knowledge" for the state of Virginia, wrote: Every government degenerates when trusted to the rulers of the people. The people themselves are its only safe depositories. And to render even them safe, their minds must be improved to a certain degree. This indeed is not all that is necessary, though it be essentially necessary. An amendment to our constitution must here come in aid of the public education. (3) Even before the Constitution of the United States was ratified the Founders recognized the importance of education to a free, democratic society. …


The Solar Cycle is reviewed. The 11-year cycle of solar activity is characterized by the rise and fall in the numbers and surface area of sunspots. We examine a number of other solar activity indicators including the 10.7 cm radio flux, the total solar irradiance, the magnetic field, flares and coronal mass ejections, geomagnetic activity, galactic cosmic ray fluxes, and radioisotopes in tree rings and ice cores that vary in association with the sunspots. We examine the characteristics of individual solar cycles including their maxima and minima, cycle periods and amplitudes, cycle shape, and the nature of active latitudes, hemispheres, and longitudes. We examine long-term variability including the Maunder Minimum, the Gleissberg Cycle, and the Gnevyshev-Ohl Rule. Short-term variability includes the 154-day periodicity, quasi-biennial variations, and double peaked maxima. We conclude with an examination of prediction techniques for the solar cycle.


Give your research paper some CPR... citations, peer-reviewed sources, and research of course! This guide assists with courses offered in Criminal Justice, Fire Science, Emergency Medical Services, and Gang Enforcement Management


Summary form only given. Smith normal form computation is important in many topics, e.g. group theory and number theory. For matrices over the rings Z and F/sub 2/[x], we introduce a new Smith normal form algorithm, called triangular band matrix algorithm, which first computes the Hermite normal form and then step by step the diagonal form and the Smith normal form. In comparison to the Kannan Bachem algorithm, which computes the Smith normal form by alternately computing the Hermite normal form and the left Hermite normal form, the theoretical advantage is, that we only once apply the expensive Hermite normal form step. We parallelize the triangular band matrix algorithm and get a better complexity analysis than for previous parallel algorithms, like the Kannan Bachem algorithm and the Hartley Hawkes algorithm. In the part, which is different to the Kannan Bachem algorithm, the triangular band matrix algorithm leads to a better efficiency and smaller execution times, even for large example matrices.


The interactive mechanism among platform operators, content producers, and information receivers is increasingly complex in human–computer symbiosis. The purpose of this study is to identify the interactive value among platform operators, content producers, and information receivers with regard to information through the health and fitness apps by adopting an advanced Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) method derived from professional perspectives of app users and operators, key opinion leaders, scholars, and officers. The AHP method was allocated weightings to the evaluation criteria from the twelve panelists from three groups of platform operators, content producers, and information receivers. After focus group interviews were conducted, four dimensions and twelve sub-dimensions of the initial health and fitness apps were obtained as follows: Content category: Monitoring, exercise, journaling, and sleeping; (2) User reviews: Fuctionality, interactivity, and criticism; (3) Content updates: New feature, correctness, and new language; (4) Platform terms: Privacy, accuracy, ownership, and right of use. The study integrated the panelists' opinions toward health and fitness apps and analyzed the weight of each indicator according to their importance by Power Choice V2.5. The results revealed that the weights of dimensions of health and fitness apps were sorted by content category, user review, platform terms, and content update, as well as that the weights of the top six sub-dimensions were followed: monitoring, exercise, functionality, interactivity, privacy, and accuracy. Content producers suggested increasing the popularity of their products by adding new features, whereas information receivers preferred to correct problems. Content producers and information receivers graded platform terms as less essential, whereas platform operators rated platform terms higher. This study can contribute to assisting the health and fitness industry and the overall strategic operative process by identifying how the effectiveness in the procedures, estimative process, and cost-down can enhance competitiveness to further improve users experience and satisfaction.


Aims

Given the significance of the herbaceous understorey layer for temperate forest ecosystem biodiversity and functioning, it is important to have a thorough understanding of its dynamics in response to environmental change. However, site-specific factors such as soil type may cause differential temporal herb layer changes within a single study area under comparable external pressure. Surprisingly, relatively few studies have examined herb layer changes on different site types within the same forest complex. The aim of this study is to determine the temporal differences in herb vegetation and to compare these for two differing site types in the same forest complex.

Location

Ancient broad-leaved woodlands traditionally managed as coppice with standards in South Belgium, an area with secondary deposits and a mild temperate climate.

Methods

In 2008 we re-inventoried 43 vegetation recordings from 1953 to 1954 in forests on two site types (acid and neutral forests). First, we described differences in soil pH, litter and overstorey characteristics between the sites. Next, multivariate analysis, Ellenberg indicator value and CSR signature were used to determine differences in herb layer diversity and composition between both the two survey times and the two site types. Finally, we analysed temporal differences in individual species abundances and frequencies.

Results

The two site types clearly differed with respect to soil, litter and overstorey characteristics. Temporal changes between the surveys were mostly highly significant on the neutral sites and mostly not significant on the acid sites. On both site types, the species pool size declined. On the neutral site, the mean plot species richness also declined. Based on the plant-derived characteristics (Ellenberg indicator values) of the plots, light availability decreased and nitrogen availability significantly increased on the neutral sites.

Conclusion

Input of eutrophying deposits and management changes are seen as key drivers of herb layer changes in the study area over the last half-century. However, our study suggests that site characteristics such as parent material and soil pH should also be considered. Together with the key drivers, incorporating differences in site characteristics may improve our understanding of temporal shifts in herb layer vegetation in response to environmental change.


Theory and Applications of Outsider Anonymity in Broadcast Encryption by Irippuge Deshan Milinda Perera Adviser: Dr. Nelly Fazio Broadcast encryption (BE) allows efficient one-to-many secret communication of data over a broadcast channel. In the standard setting of BE, information about receivers is transmitted in the clear together with ciphertexts. This could be a serious violation of recipient privacy since the identities of the users authorized to access the secret content in certain broadcast scenarios are as sensitive as the content itself. Anonymous broadcast encryption (AnoBE) prevents this leakage of recipient identities from ciphertexts but at a cost of a linear lower bound (in the number of receivers) on the length of ciphertexts. A linear ciphertext length is a highly undesirable bottleneck in any large-scale broadcast application. In this thesis, we propose a less stringent yet very meaningful notion of anonymity for broadcast encryption called outsideranonymous broadcast encryption (oABE) that allows the creation of ciphertexts that are sublinear in the number of receivers. We construct several oABE schemes with varying security guarantees and levels of efficiency. We also present two very interesting cryptographic applications afforded by the efficiency of our oABE schemes. The first is broadcast steganography (BS), the extension of the state of the art setting of pointto-point steganography to the multi-recipient setting. The second is oblivious group storage (OGS), the introduction of fine-grained data access control policies to the setting of multi-client oblivious cloud storage protocols.


Calcium hydroxide is a widely used material in endodontic treatment due to its high alkalinity and antimicrobial properties. It is thought to create a favourable environment for periradicular repair and healing, and to stimulate hard tissue formation. The aim of the present retrospective study was to evaluate the effect of accidental and voluminous overextensions of calcium hydroxide pastes into periapical lesions and tissues on the prognosis of periapical healing. It was seen that calcium hydroxide overextensions did not disfavour healing, none of the endodontic treatments failed but healing was delayed in the majority of cases and in a number of cases extrusion induced immediate flare-ups. Therefore the deliberate extrusion of calcium hydroxide into periapical tissues is not advocated.


This study presents evidence that phosphoinositide (PI) 3-kinase is involved in T cell Ca2+ signaling via a phosphatidylinositol 3,4,5-trisphosphate PI(3,4,5)P3-sensitive Ca2+entry pathway. First, exogenous PI(3,4,5)P3 at concentrations close to its physiological levels induces Ca2+ influx in T cells, whereas PI(3,4)P2, PI(4,5)P2, and PI(3)P have no effect on [Ca2+] i . This Ca2+ entry mechanism is cell type-specific as B cells and a number of cell lines examined do not respond to PI(3,4,5)P3 stimulation. Second, inhibition of PI 3-kinase by wortmannin and by overexpression of the dominant negative inhibitor Δp85 suppresses anti-CD3-induced Ca2+response, which could be reversed by subsequent exposure to PI(3,4,5)P3. Third, PI(3,4,5)P3 is capable of stimulating Ca2+ efflux from Ca2+-loaded plasma membrane vesicles prepared from Jurkat T cells, suggesting that PI(3,4,5)P3 interacts with a Ca2+ entry system directly or via a membrane-bound protein. Fourth, although D-myo-inositol 1,3,4,5-tetrakisphosphate (Ins(1,3,4,5)P4) mimics PI(3,4,5)P3 in many aspects of biochemical functions such as membrane binding and Ca2+ transport, we raise evidence that Ins(1,3,4,5)P4 does not play a role in anti-CD3- or PI(3,4,5)P3-mediated Ca2+ entry. This PI(3,4,5)P3-stimulated Ca2+ influx connotes physiological significance, considering the pivotal role of PI 3-kinase in the regulation of T cell function. Given that PI 3-kinase and phospholipase C-γ form multifunctional complexes downstream of many receptor signaling pathways, we hypothesize that PI(3,4,5)P3-induced Ca2+ entry acts concertedly with Ins(1,4,5)P3-induced Ca2+ release in initiating T cell Ca2+ signaling. By using a biotinylated analog of PI(3,4,5)P3 as the affinity probe, we have detected several putative PI(3,4,5)P3-binding proteins in T cell plasma membranes.


Suppression of multiplicity fluctuations has been observed for three light fermions (protons, tritons and 3He) in the multifragmentation of reconstructed hot quasi-projectiles produced in collisions of 32S (45 MeV/nucleon) with 112Sn. This suppression, predicted by recent calculations, is attributed to Pauli blocking and has also been observed in experiments with trapped Fermi gases. Experimental results on nuclear temperature and density employing a quantal approach based on momentum and multiplicity fluctuations are also presented. The extracted temperatures show a noticeable reduction when compared to a similarly derived classical method. This reduction in temperature is in agreement with previous predictions indicating that classically derived methods overpredict nuclear temperature as they do not take into account the Fermi motion of the nucleons. The present results underline the role of quantum statistics in nuclear disassembly and suggest the need for proper quantum treatment when dealing with the thermodynamic properties of fragmenting heavy ions.


Abstract Laboratory tests are essential for clinicians to reach an accurate diagnosis and informing appropriate treatments. The expansion in the use of immunotherapies has highlighted the gap between the knowledge of molecular pathways and targeted therapies with availability of laboratory tests. The translation of vibrational spectroscopic techniques such as Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy and Raman spectroscopy into clinical practice offer rapid-, noninvasive and inexpensive methods to obtain information on the molecular composition of biological samples. Advances in instrumentation, data analysis and machine learning techniques are key developments that have permitted the availability of results to clinicians in an appropriate timescale. Immunological disorders are complex, often demonstrating interaction across multiple molecular pathways which results in delayed diagnosis. Vibrational spectroscopy is being applied in many fields and here we present a review of its potential use in clinical immunology. This review addresses the potential use of spectroscopy in clinical immunology. Potential benefits that these novel techniques offer, including enhanced definition of molecular process and its use in disease diagnosis, monitoring and treatment response is discussed. Whilst not covered extensively, an overview of the method principle, quality control processes, and the requirements for multivariate data analysis is included to provide the reader with sufficient understanding of its application in the clinical setting.


Purpose: The aim of the paper is to develop the approach to a legal definition of FinTech. Design/Methodology/Approach: In this paper we evolve possible approaches of FinTech legal definition, investigate existing approaches at the international level and examine the policies applied at the national levels. Document analysis, as a form of qualitative research, was used in this study. Findings: We found that in most countries the legislation does not specifically address fintech companies, and the legal framework equally regulates the activities of traditional service providers and fintech operators. In our opinion, no specific legislation for FinTech companies needed, each type of activity provided by a financial or technology company is subject to a specific legislation/regulation with primary focus on services and products provided as payments, insurance, investments etc. Practical Implications: The term FinTech is freely used by policy makers, regulators, companies, researchers, academics and the public, both nationally and internationally. According to international organizations such as the IMF, the World Bank and the OECD, FinTech offers the opportunity to accelerate economic growth and expand financial affordability/inclusion in all countries. Some countries are increasingly striving to become global or international regional hubs for FinTech and are working hard to develop interagency government strategies with a supportive legal environment. Originality/Value: There is still confusion about the nature and dynamics of FinTech among politicians, scientists and practitioners, as well as about the legal framework of this area. The value of this article is to clarify and propose an apprach to definition of FinTech by combining different approaches in a very original and innovative way.


The New Jersey Department of Transportation (NJDOT) Research Library operates as a branch of the New Jersey State Library. While this guide was developed for NJDOT employees, the general public may also use it to find transportation-related research.